My Other Half
by KeepSmilingOn329
Summary: What if his parents weren't only the dear family that were taken away from Clive? One-Shot. Slight Unwound Future AU.


**Hello, KeepSmilingOn329 here, I'm so sorry that I haven't been updating that recently but at the moment I've been suffering with a lot of writer's block so I committed myself to One-Shots instead. Although, this is rather long. Please brace yourself XD So anyway, I've had this headcanon in my...head for quite a long time now, and finally decided to write this down as something to explore more of Clive's backstory, something other than the fact that his parents were killed. This takes place five years before the original UF story, by the way. Please enjoy reading! (It may take you some time ha-ha) And do tell me if you liked it, I'd appreciate it seeing as it's the longest one-shot that I've ever written and possibly will ever write. There was just too many events to fit into a short one-shot but too little events to extend into a whole chaptered story. If you know me, you'll notice that I'll tend to go on a little bit, tee hee hee. Also, this story involves a main OC, if you're put off by that sort of thing. It's also a slight AU, but the original game would only have to change a tiny bit of its dialogue for this to be entirely possible. Here's me hoping that I kept everyone (Clive) reasonably in character! Hah Hah. **

**I don't own Professor Layton. If I did then Professor Layton-Sacrifice would already have been made into a survival horror fighting game for the Xbox 360, and everyone would hate it XD**

My Other Half

_What if his parents weren't the only dear family that were taken away from Clive? One-shot. Slight Unwound Future AU. _

The jarring rings of the family telephone echoed throughout the silent interior of the Dove household, alerting inhabitants of its presence. Spring trotted lightly through the hallway, signature grin remaining plastered on her face, before extending a hand to pick the object out of its deck. She raised it to her ear and let out an informative, yet cheerful: "Hello, you have reached the Dove residence!"

She listened to the muffled replies of the caller on the other end of the line when she found that the edges of her mouth tugged even wider. "...Oh, you would like to talk to him, I presume? Alright then, I'll just go and get him for you..."

A young teenager coincidentally emerged from behind the corner and strolled down the hallway, nothing really preoccupying his mind. He absent-mindedly adjusted his collar slightly on his chequered blue shirt and flicked his light brown locks out of his eyes. When he noticed Spring to his right, he beamed and nodded his head at her as a friendly greeting gesture.

"Young sir, you have a phone call!" Spring notified him before he could disappear into the other direction.

He stopped, thanked and dismissed Spring kindly, before taking the cold black item into his own grasp. "...Hello? This is Clive speaking"

"Hey, bro! It's been a while, huh?" Came the other voice.

Clive gasped and lowered his voice, refusing the urge to laugh happily. "Edward!" He whispered. "I was waiting for your call days ago! What on earth have you been doing?"

Although Clive suppressed his desire to exclaim, Edward did nothing of the sort. He let out a bold guffaw down into the line, mocking the other's misfortune. "I'm sorry, it's just I had stuff to do with the family, you know? I called you straight after though."

"Yeah, right, you mean straight after you _remembered_! Gosh, it's been a long time since I heard your voice last!" Clive gasped, leaning back onto the cabinet and preparing for a long conversation.

There was another lively laugh. "Yeah, I know, right? I'm so glad that we have each others' phone numbers; speaking wouldn't be easy at all then! I mean, we're twins, we have to be connected now and then, right?"

Clive couldn't disturb the fond smile creeping onto his lips at the mention of his and Edward's status. He was right; they were twins and did have a right to be connected. Once upon a time, they used to do everything together. Scraping off the surface, everything about them was exactly the same. Although both of them might have had other friends in the past, both Clive and Edward always turned to each other at time of need. Both of them were each others' salvation, and the two brothers shared whatever they had to demonstrate their extremely close relationship. There was a love there that neither had experienced before with anybody else, an immensely strong bond uniting them. After all, Edward was Clive's other half and vice versa.

"Yeah..." He replied dazedly, before snapping himself out of his nostalgic mindset. "So anyway Ed, you have to tell me everything that happened since last time we spoke!"

There was a silence on the other line, presumably Edward gathering things in his head to talk about. He breathed in and grinned mischievously. "Hey... what if we met up this weekend and we could talk properly then, what do you think?"

Clive's eyes widened in surprise. The last time they saw each other had to be at least a year ago, or maybe that's what it felt like, anyway. In the meantime the two brothers had been sneaking phone calls to each other once every few weeks ever since they accidently met again a few years ago whilst perusing around town. Clive didn't know how Constance would react if her only son was still holding onto large fragments of his past, technically implying that he wasn't happy being there with her. Of course this was exactly the opposite, and while Constance was a kindly old lady, Clive didn't want to worry her with more troubles.

But admittedly, he wanted to see his dear brother more than anything at that moment. He could think of a way to convince Constance he was buying his time elsewhere sometime later.

"Really? You know how much I'd love to see you again, bro, of course I'll come! Anyway, I'm shocked; usually you, Angela, Tim and the kids are busy every day with different things...how did you convince them to let you see me?"

Edward scratched his cheek in denial and muttered a little bit before confessing. "Yeah...well, I actually haven't told them either. But this weekend the family are going on holiday and I volunteered to guard the empty house because of this very reason. Anyway, if something does happen then I can say I'm doing something else."

Clive actually didn't stop a small laugh from escaping his lips this time as he smoothed back his hair. "That thinking is exactly the same as mine, Ed!"

"Ha-ha-ha! Of course it is!" Said boy agreed in response. "So anyway, about this weekend, how about we go to that new zoo that's opening nearby? And then afterwards you can come to stay the night or something? You can think of an excuse for that right? After all, you're far better at lying than me..."

Instead of playfully objecting like Clive usually would have done, he was too overwhelmed with joy to tease. Feelings of excitement and anticipation flooded through his body and left him no choice but to grin madly at the thought of finally seeing someone of blood relation that he hadn't lost yet. So, instead of the expected reply, Clive simply nodded vigorously and clutched the phone tighter, his voice still low in amplitude. His fingers brushed over his mouth in an attempt to mask his voice from any possible eavesdroppers.

"Yes, that sounds brilliant! So I guess I'll meet you at the bus stop by that park around the corner from the mall; I think that's the bus we need to take to get there."

"Yep! I can't wait! See you there at...eleven in the morning, yeah?"

"That sounds convenient," Clive calmed himself a little bit and relaxed in his posture. "I'll see you then."

"Gosh, it's going to be fun seeing how much you've changed! Even your voice sounds deeper...and posher too!" Edward observed cheekily, experiencing the same exhilaration.

"Oh shut up, I don't sound any more different then you do! See you later, then!" Clive gave a half-smile to the air and placed the phone back into the deck, effectively hanging it up once they both had exchanged reluctant goodbyes.

Clive sighed and raised his index finger to his lips, head already whirring with plans as to what they were going to do this weekend within the zoo and all the conversations they were guaranteed to share. Clive skipped into the main kitchen, carefully opened the fridge and poured himself a glass of apple juice before he sat at the glossy table and became lost inside his multiple thoughts. He was too occupied with his own daydreams to not notice Cogg join him inside the kitchen a few minutes later and stand there, watching the boy gaze into the thin air.

"Are you alright, Young Sir? I mean no offence, but your demeanour seems quite...spaced-out, today...Is there something troubling your mind?" Cogg finally mentioned after noticing the boy resisting the natural process of blinking.

It was a while before Clive actually realised that someone in real life was addressing him and not the elephants in his amusing fantasy. His dry eyes eventually blinked multiple times, ensuring that he was back to reality, and he turned his face to serve one of the Dove's most faithful servants with a reassuring smile.

"Ha-ha, don't worry about me; I've just got...plans. This weekend I'm going to go sleep over a friends', is that alright with you?" He queried charmingly.

Cogg chortled heartily. "Of course that would be alright with me, but it's the Mistress you have to ask to get the verdict! Does the Mistress know this boy? ...It _is_ a boy, correct?"

"Why, I'm only fifteen! Do you honestly believe that I would be doing that at this adolescent age?" Clive joked, taking a delicate sip of the apple juice he had brought out what seemed like days ago.

Cogg returned the kindness and ruffled the boy's hair, whispering that he'd have a tiny word with Constance about the matter for her son. Clive could only be grateful for his loyalty. As Cogg left the kitchen to finish whatever had to be finished in the colossal Dove manor, the teenager only reclined in his seat, thinking of the days to come and what his elderly adoptive mother would say to the basics of the idea. He couldn't think of a reason why Constance would object.

* * *

As he had predicted, Constance had granted Clive permission to be away from home for a day or two, regardless of the gender of his friend or who his friend was (to his surprise). She had said that she noticed how Clive never went out with friends and he deserved some freedom as a teenager, so she gladly let him free and given him enough money for whatever he planned to do. Anyway, the worry about genders and the like was completely irrelevant at this time as Clive proceeded to lightly jog down the blocks of the nearby neighbourhood, his black shoes tapping against the concrete pavement. After a few minutes he turned the corner, and arrived behind the immense shopping mall which stood boldly before his presence. His pace slowed to a halt as he grinned in satisfaction, realising the importance of a certain person who sat on the other side from him. It was a very long while since Clive had felt 'butterflies' like these well up inside him.

Even though Clive and Edward had been exchanging phone calls, they had hardly seen each other for plenty of different reasons. Clive thought on his spot for a moment. What if Edward's appearance had differed? What if he got a new haircut, a new fashion sense and more? What if Edward was enjoying it more with his family, so much so that he forgot about his and his brother's closeness? Clive sucked in his breath, symbolically drawing in his fears, and exhaled heavily. He would find out soon enough.

Once Clive had snapped back into his current position, he didn't waste a moment hesitating. He bounded forward around the borderline of the shopping mall, finding himself shortly approaching their designated, empty bus stop. And there he was. Clive couldn't even try to crease the ever-growing smile into the slight one that he usually displayed in front of most people. However, this boy was the exception. He reached out, gently tapped the shoulder of the boy and sprang back almost immediately, awaiting some form of reaction.

The boy swiftly turned.

Edward's own eyes widened as he surveyed Clive from head to toe, checking to see if anything had changed, as did Clive to Edward. Nope. Nothing was significantly different about either of them. Edward's hair colour was the same, just being a slightly darker colour than his brothers'. His skin was still fair and even his scent remained indifferent. The all too familiar sight of each other brought back an overwhelming pang of nostalgia from when they were children.

It was then that Edward suddenly rushed up and threw his arms around Clive, hugging –or even, _crushing_- him as tight as he could manage. Clive choked, wondering how to respond in this particular situation, but soon awkwardly raised his arms up to softly return the embrace. He didn't usually hug people, but seeing as this was their first meeting in at least a year, he made the exception gladly. With a chuckle, he teasingly pulled Edward away and smiled at him. He fondly looked at the eyes that he missed of his twin, his other half.

"It's been forever, hasn't it? You look really great! Oh, I can't believe it, we're finally together again!" Edward bubbled, giddily bouncing up and down on the spot.

While Clive felt entirely like mirroring his actions, he regained his composure and simply showed his joy through the grin eating up half of his face. "So it has! You look amazing too, Ed!"

"Of course I do, because we're exactly..." Edward lightly tapped Clive's nose. "...The same!"

The two boys chortled as they both attempted to calm down before other members of the public could arrive and gawk at them. It was true. Edward's appearance was almost exactly identical to that of his twin's, the only difference being that his darker, thicker hair was worn looser but flicked up at the same time. This was the same style he donned from when he was a small child. Yep, Edward still kept the same appearance, the same childish personality and the same... everything. Clive resisted the strong impulse to wrap him up in his arms and comfort him about everything that had happened in the past like they used to do when they were kids. But they weren't kids anymore.

Soon enough, before they could speak any more words, the striking red double-decker bus pulled up by the stop and the two boys hopped onto the rear entrance as a member of the public jumped off. Once they had quickly paid for their fare, they took their seat and the bus didn't wait to set off again. Incoherent chatters emitted from each of the passengers echoed around the inside of the large vehicle.

"So how are things?" Clive wanted to know after they had settled.

Edward directed his gaze up at the ceiling and let out a giant, exaggerated huff. "Well, as you know, the family are on holiday to Birmingham so I'm alone in the house, but apart from that, it's all good! Angela's got me signed up for a karate class so I can learn to kick some butt! Oh yeah, Tim said that I could learn any musical instrument I wanted, so I picked the drums! I'm pretty terrible at it now, but you just wait, in ten years time I'm going to be famous!"

Clive gave a small laugh at his ambitious brother's warbles until he was asked the same question.

"Life's alright, I guess. The house has even more furniture now and my homeschooling is going well. Constance is fine, but she's growing older and I'm, you know, a little worried that I'll be alone again soon after she..." He sighed, immediately placing a dark contrast next to Edward's happy dreams.

Edward gave his brother a shove. "Don't be so glum, Clive! Anyway, you won't be alone; you'll have me there for you!"

"...Yes," Clive nodded with a warm tingle inside him. "Yes I will."

"Exactly, now lighten up! I'm sure Constance has plenty of years left!" Edward giggled, straightening back his hair with one hand and pointing at Clive with the other. "Anyway, let's move on to another subject. Did you mention you were homeschooled?"

"Yes..."

"Right, you have to tell me all about that! Is it fun? Do you make any friends when you don't go to school? How are you doing in your studies?"

Edward made sure to bombard Clive with plenty of questions to keep their journey interesting and light-hearted, preparing them for the day ahead.

After a journey that felt extremely short due to their rather extensive conversation centred around catching up with each other's lives, the bus slowed down at the front of the zoo. The two of them leapt off the back of the bus, saluted thanks to the driver and soon they all were on their way. Clive and Edward soon navigated their way inside, paid the entrance fee and off they went, free to venture around the vast area.

The zoo seemed to offer a wide range of facilities, considering it being brand new. The boys could only marvel at the thought of spending the whole day here at nature's side. Clive didn't even bother asking why Edward chose the zoo of all places they could go; he knew that the younger twin loved animals and this was his favourite place to go with his family as a child. Perhaps not this zoo exactly, but the area in general.

"So where shall we go to first?"Asked Clive as they strode down the path leading to the various animal enclosures.

"Hmm..." Edward replied slowly, his face pensive with thought. "How about—look! _Look!_ Those peacocks look _so _pretty, don't they Clive?" He suddenly exclaimed in delight, rushing up to the bordered field which kept said bird.

Clive raised an eyebrow with a smile and followed his brother up to the wooden barriers, leaning his front against it and surveying Edward's vibrant, childlike expression.

"I like that one over there," The boy reached out and pointed as far as he could to a certain peacock that was strutting around the emerald blades of grass, minding its own business. "I think I'm going to name him Bob."

"How do you know that's not a girl?" Clive inquired, smirking.

"I...Ah. Oh well! Bob's a nice name for a girl, right?" Edward clasped his hands together before shooting himself off to the next area, leaving Clive dumbfounded at his brother's genial personality.

Yes, he was just as lively as he could remember.

"Clive, Clive, look at these colourful birds! They're so cute!" Edward yelled from a few feet away.

"Shouldn't you know the names of them if you like animals so much?" The blue-clad teenager bluntly questioned once he had caught up with the energetic twin.

"Maybe I should, maybe I shouldn't. I guess I don't remember seeing these before" He answered honestly, shrugging his shoulders.

It wasn't long before Edward had already found his way into the monkey's enclosure to the right after a lot of running. He panted a little bit, but masked all signs of exhaustion. He stood up straight and waited for Clive to join him in front of the border where all the monkeys coped with their manufactured attempt to resemble their original habitat. Edward scanned the group of mammals until his eyes lit up.

"Look, there's us!" He notified Clive when he arrived shortly after him.

Clive peered over until he saw two adolescent chimps leaning on each other, one chewing its fingers and the other scratching its furry rear. He chuckled.

"And I assume that the one chewing its fingers is me, considering how you used to scratch your bum twenty-four-seven!" Clive reminded him, playfully shoving him about.

"True, true, but that isn't happening anymore! I've learnt the values of hygiene!" Edward announced with a wink.

He skipped off to the opposite direction, where he took notice of an open desert space filled with meerkats. Edward leant over the stone border and took some time to admire the groups of the animal with his heavy head resting in his palms. His eyes darted around, just waiting for something interesting to happen in the area that he could be excited about. He came across a family of meerkats, consisting of a mother, a father and two child meerkats. The children looked exactly the same as each other.

"Look at that," Edward spoke to Clive, nodding his head in the direction of the small group. "Reminds you of something, doesn't it?"

The other twin too caught sight of the family and sighed, a lump swelling in his throat. Clive placed a comforting hand on Edward's shoulder, which made him bounce up and smile again with eyes closed.

"Oh well, it's no use still thinking about that. We came out here for a fun day out, not to think about troubling things, right? Come on, let's go look around some more" He proposed, and with that he jumped away and threw himself over to the field of goats which roamed free for people to pet.

An hour or so later, the twins had sat themselves down at a table in an outdoor cafe for lunch. They each ordered themselves a sandwich and a drink, along with a side snack of some fruit or vegetables. Edward sipped his ice drink and looked into the sky, shading his eyes from the beating sun.

"I'm so glad that the English weather didn't strike us today. It's actually _sunny _for once! I'm having a hard time believing how on/off the weather is here nowadays" He commented, waving his hand dismissively as he closed his lips around the straw.

Clive nodded and reclined in his seat, placing his arms comfortably behind his head and resting his weight against them. "Is this finally the day when we hear Edward finally make conversation about the _weather_? I'm actually quite scared about the world ending now!" He quipped, pretending to be shocked.

"Shu'up" Edward pouted. "I guess I'm just tired, so my brain must have switched itself off."

There was a silence between the brothers. Clive reminded himself that he had finished all of his assignments on Friday, so he had absolutely no school work to worry about whatsoever to distract him. It was a good thing he was clever. He stole a glance over at Edward, admiring him and thinking about everything they did as children together. A prominent memory was their eighth birthday, when the two of them ventured into the deserted forest and almost slipped into the bog. But when they found a river, Edward had pushed Clive into the still waters only to find himself being pulled down as well. They never managed to explain to their parents why they were soaking with water when they arrived home, dripping a trail all the way. Clive allowed himself a wistful smile at the memory.

"Well!" Edward snapped Clive out of his daydreams once the younger twin had noticed that both of them were finished with their lunches. "We still haven't seen the tigers or the elephants or anything yet! Shall we be off?"

Clive nodded dazedly. He stood up and accompanied his twin in leaving. Edward followed the maps that were dotted around here and there into the section where they kept the safari animals. Edward peered through the wire mesh, keen eyes searching for any sign of the orange and black-striped animal. Sure enough, some made themselves known soon by calmly walking around the large field they were kept in, and Edward whooped with joy.

"Woah, aren't they stunning? I love tigers so much!" He declared passionately, pushing himself up against the metal.

"Careful bro, come too close to the tigers and they may eat you alive!" Clive warned jokingly, baring his imaginary fangs.

Edward stood back, slightly intimidated, before running off to somewhere else. Clive snickered and then sprinted in the same direction after him. While the brothers never failed to be entertained by teasing each other, they did honestly love each other. That was the best part about their relationship. No matter what happened between them, that bond thicker than blood still remained.

As Edward marvelled at the hippos wallowing in the water, Clive had his mind somewhere else yet again. This day was one of the best that he'd had in years and he would have done anything to make sure he and his brother could meet up more often. Yes... after this weekend, regardless of how he thought Constance would react, Clive would definitely speak to her about Edward. If Edward did the same with Angela and Tim, Clive was almost sure that they would be allowed to see each other without being dishonest and secretive anymore.

When the strength of the sun's rays began to soften, the two of them knew that it was time to leave so that they could make it home safely before dark. Clive was staying the night over at Edward's house, so there was no worry about saying goodbye today. The bus journey was filled with inquiries and answers as before, but there was less excitement. The boys were quite tired themselves after a long day of meandering about the zoo, after all. The bus ride back to Edward's house lasted longer than Clive thought, and he had almost dozed off before Edward suddenly pressed the bell which jolted him awake.

The bus had left them standing in a suburban neighbourhood outside of a set of large, modern-looking houses. Clive took in his surroundings, noting how homely it all felt.

"Down here, come on!" Edward beckoned, traipsing down the pavement to a rather grand house in the corner of the street, embedded behind trees, hedges and whatnot.

Edward pushed open the silver gate, pressing down the lock behind them as they both stepped into the lean front garden. The grass was short and evenly sized; Edward's family must take exceptionally great care of it. Fallen leaves added a dark contrast to the luminous green that encircled them. There was a beige patio path winding to the porch which lead to dark wooden double doors. Edward revealed a house key from his pocket and let both of them inside the spacious area.

The interior of the house was gorgeous, to say the least. Clive was only used to the manor now, and while the furniture might be familiar to him as it was quite glamorous, the house had that...homely feel to it. A warm aura radiated from the walls, reminding him of the flat that he, Edward and his parents once shared. Oh, how he missed those days. Clive took this moment to acquaint himself with the house, hearing his shoes against the wooden flooring and brushing his finger against the glass side tables. He came across framed photos of Kevin and Molly, Angela and Tim's five-year-old children, and he couldn't help but smile at how innocent they appeared.

"Do you like it?" Edward queried, bending over to analyse his twin's facial expression.

Clive nodded slowly. "It's so similar yet so different to the manor..." He mused.

"Of course, I forgot! You're a rich kid now, aren't you Clive? I forgot to mention how posh you actually sound in real life!" Edward leered, sounding half teasing and half surprised.

"I'm not _that _posh..." Clive modestly insisted.

"Yes you are! Compared to half the people who live around these parts, you sound like the Queen!" Edward stuck his tongue out and playfully mocked Clive's recent dialect.

For this, Clive didn't hesitate to jump his brother and tackle him to the ground, the wind knocking out of their bodies as they collided with the wood. Neither of them seemed to mind, however. They battled for a little while on the floor before bursting out into fits of laughter. They lay beside each other, cooling down.

"Just like old times, eh?" Edward reminded him, straightening himself up.

"Yeah, it is" Clive agreed, getting to his feet and pulling Edward up to the same level.

After a silence, Edward dashed off into the kitchen. "Would you like a drink or anything?"

Clive accepted the offer humbly and said that he would be able to make them, but Edward ignored him and proceeded to throw various fruits into a blender. The older twin settled onto an oak chair surrounding a glossy rectangular table of the same material. Before long, Edward appeared from behind the barrier of the doorway with two lime green and frothy smoothies. He set one down for Clive and kept hold of the other one, sipping it as he sat down at the opposite side of the table to face his twin exactly.

Clive took a small drink of Edward's homemade smoothie, before exclaiming out. "Wow! This is delicious! I like it!"

Edward laughed. "I knew you would! The family love my smoothies, especially Molly. She seems to be the one with the sweetest tooth! She could eat sweets for Britain, that Mol."

Clive placed his sour/sweet-tasting drink down onto the table again and sighed, his mood being brought back down to a serious one again.

"...I notice that you call them 'the family' all the time... Are you that distant from them?" He asked, avoiding eye contact.

"No, no! I love them like they were my own family, it's just..." Edward trailed off, also setting down his drink.

"..._They're not."_ Clive finished for him.

Edward nodded reluctantly, his cheerful personality becoming less visible. "Even though I love them, I can never accept them as my own. _You're _my real family, Clive, and so are...Mum and Dad."

"But Mum and Dad aren't here anymore."

"I know that. God, how can I _not _know that? It's just, when they passed and we were separated, I didn't know if I could think of anyone I could call my family anymore. Life is great, believe me, but...it just isn't the same when you, Mum and Dad aren't around me anymore..."

Clive gulped, the thick lump haunting him from earlier returning into his throat. He felt absolutely terrible for bringing this subject to the table and upsetting Edward, but it was true. Mum and Dad weren't there for either of them anymore. They each had their own lives now. Neither of them liked to face this hard truth, but they had to deal with it no matter how they felt about the situation. Up until they were ten years old, none of them had any worries or cares to deal with and they could enjoy their lives. Now they felt that they had the biggest burdens resting upon their shoulders.

"...Yeah. I miss Mum and Dad ever so much. I prefer to think of Constance as a 'grandmother', considering her age, so it might be less hard for me then it is on you having to accept new parents and new siblings" Clive cogitated while studying a family picture on the side cabinet of Angela, Tim, Molly, Kevin and Edward.

Edward nodded once, feeling the tears prick at his eyes. He furiously blinked them back and forced a smile to cheer up the both of them. "Well, we shouldn't dwell on the past too much so let's focus on the present, 'kay?"

Clive brushed his light brown side fringe out of his eyes and returned the smile, glad to see that his brother was there to pull him out of the dark when he needed him to. "Sure."

So, the brothers quickly got talking about the benefits of their new lives for what seemed like eternity. They discussed television programs and games they liked, any pets that they now owned, Edward's school life and Clive's home-school life and so much more. They chatted until dusk crept over the sky and well into dinner time.

"You've never told me this, bro: what would you like to be when you're older?" Edward wanted to know.

The boys stood in the kitchen, helping each other make a quick spaghetti Bolognese. Clive stopped grating the cheese to tap his lip in thought.

"Hrm...I don't actually know yet. I like mechanics, so maybe an engineer or... a journalist, perhaps?" He speculated.

Edward stuck his bottom lip out, impressed with Clive's choices. Either way, they were jobs that paid well and if he enjoyed them, then there was no exception, was there? "Ooh... 'Clive the Reporter'... Interesting!"

Clive cocked his head to the side a little bit. "What about you?"

Edward grinned at the question. "You know what, I'd love to be a famous drummer or a zookeeper! Remember on the bus, when I said I was learning the drums?"

"Oh yeah," The older twin confirmed, leaning back onto the kitchen cabinet and directing his stare to the cream ceiling. "How are you doing with that? Any progress?"

Edward sighed and muttered unsurely. "Well, I did say I was bad so far, but I'm getting slightly better with each lesson, so I guess it's going good."

Clive drank in this information, happy for his brother to be doing something different, before returning to the cooking. When the meals had been cooked and placed on the table, they tucked in almost immediately.

"Everything tastes better when you make it yourself!" Edward remarked, shovelling forkfuls of spaghetti into his mouth and chomping down hungrily.

"That applies to everyone but me. You should taste a plate of my cooking sometime!" Clive snorted, twirling a little bit of the food.

"Well you cooked this with me and it tastes great, so..."

"That's because you can't taste the parts I made; they're so terrible they got knocked off the scale of disgusting!"

"Hey!" Edward lectured jokingly and flicked a carrot at Clive's forehead. "Stop being so pessimistic! You'll need a high self-esteem if you want to go anywhere in life!"

Clive swept off the moist area of his head where the carrot came into contact with and giggled. "I know that, I was just kidding around!"

Edward sighed in relief, closing his eyes. "Good, otherwise you wouldn't be able to get any girls with that attitude."

The blue-clad twin almost choked on Bolognese. "G-girls? Where did that come from?"

"Well, it's just general high-school knowledge, right? Getting a girl and...hang on a sec..." Edward's eyes narrowed into taunting slits. "...You don't go to high school, so you don't know any girls, don't you?"

Clive, almost proudly, shook his head. "And I don't want to know any. Not just yet, anyway."

"Heh heh, but whenever you do Bro, just come to Uncle Edward for some advice! You sound like you're going to need it."

With that, Clive just laughed and then returned to his meal. The two of them were quite quiet for the rest of the dinner, but when they had finished, the brothers had restarted their nature of catching up on things. It wasn't long before Edward paused the conversation to disappear into the living room. He slipped back from behind the door, grasping a sea blue object in one hand. He smiled as he knocked the lid off of the bottom and inhaled the contents into his mouth in one sharp motion. Clive could only gape at the object.

"You have asthma? Why didn't I know this before?" He questioned, his expression bemused as he studied Edward's grip on the plastic.

"I don't know, I guess I forgot to tell you" Edward shrugged. "But you know now, so it's all good!"

"But when did this develop? I don't remember much of you suffering from it when we were children..."

"I think it started sometime after the incident five years ago... I might have gotten a little too close to the smoke or something. I can't remember much of what happened."

Clive nodded, accepting Edward's answer. It made sense. So not only did that explosion kill their parents, it also gave his twin brother asthma too. Clive sighed, raising a hand to shade his eyes in disapproval. That incident changed everyone's lives seemingly for the worse. Edward noticed Clive's concern and patted him gently on the back.

"The doctors say that it's only a mild case, so I should have nothing to worry about. As long as I don't do anything too striking then it will be like the asthma isn't even there. So I'm still free to have fun and be a child when I want to, like at the zoo earlier" Edward reassured with a beam.

Clive could only cherish the warmth radiating from his brother. He knew now not to take anything he loved for granted anymore, so he held Edward very dear to his heart. Learning about Edward's asthma only made him feel like prioritizing keeping his younger twin safe and well even more. After all, Edward was his other half. For the 'whole' to function, the two of them were both needed, of course.

"So anyway, now that that's done, it's getting pretty late. We should clean up and go to bed; I don't know about you, but I'm knackered!" Edward yawned, stretching his arms out wide and rubbing his eyelids coarsely.

Although he didn't want to, Clive had to admit that he felt like relaxing as well. He followed Edward into the kitchen to wash the dishes, which didn't take that long at all with two of them, exchanging the odd word here and there.

After that was done, Edward lead Clive up the spiral staircase to the carpeted top floor. The darker haired twin pushed open a wooden door to their right, where they stepped into a rather spacious-looking bedroom. The size was nothing too impressive, but the fact that everything was so neatly arranged and decorated made the room appear vaster then it actually was. The overall colour scheme for this room was green, with any shade of it ranging from dark to light. A platform double bed was situated in the corner, as well as a desk, a book case and a closet as the main essentials. A mirror hung on the wall, reflecting every move the two made. Finished by Edward's various things that he liked to collect in his spare time dotted around on shelves, the boy's bedroom was very homely and had a modern feel to it.

"Welcome to my place!" Edward announced proudly, extending his arms out and squinting his eyes. "Do you like it?"

Clive nodded with a half-smile. "I love it. You know, if someone showed me this bedroom out of any bedroom, then I would definitely say that it belonged to you. It says a lot about your character."

Edward tilted his head. "It does? Okay then, I'll take your word for it!" He cheered and stepped out of the door. "The bathroom is behind the door opposite this bedroom, okay? I'm going to take a quick shower. Don't break anything while I'm gone!"

Clive obeyed and waved as he closed the bathroom door behind him. So this was where Edward stayed. The house was lovely and welcoming; you would have to be crazy to dislike somewhere like this. The size of the bedroom itself was similar to the room they shared when they were children. They used to share stories with each other before they went to sleep, one of the things that Clive missed so when he came to the Dove manor for the first time. Hell, he still yearned for it every night. He wanted someone to hold onto, someone to comfort, someone there for him no matter what happened. His parents also supplied this care, not just Edward. When all three of them were stolen from him, Clive didn't know how to cope at all.

He stood up properly and wandered around the bedroom, looking at different photos of Edward scattered around shelves, the books he kept in piles and clothing items strewn around the borders of the bedroom. He felt the shaggy material of the green rug caress his fingertips as he reached down, and he noticed that the lime lampshade had cast a hue of the same colour down onto the area. Clive sat cross-legged on the floor and began to wonder how things might have been if the explosion never occurred. Would he and his family be happy, still? Would there be a large change in his lifestyle from the one that he shared with Constance now? Probably.

His thoughts were interrupted by the creaking of the door's hinges, making him snap to alert as Edward waltzed into the room, body covered by a blue towel and hair dripping. He flung open the closet and grabbed a pair of striped blue pyjamas, shutting the door afterward. Edward tossed the set over to his brother, landing right in the other's face in a comical fashion. Clive blew the light clothing out of his sight and held it gingerly.

"And these are...?" He asked expectantly.

"Jim-jams, stupid! They're the ones I rarely use often, so you can wear them tonight" Edward answered and proceeded to pick out another pair for himself.

"'_Jim-Jams'_?" Clive raised an eyebrow, amused by his brother's strong trait of naivety.

Edward gave another pout. "Shut up. Go get dressed or whatever. Toothbrush's been left out for you."

Clive pulled himself up to stand and ruffled Edward's drenched hair with a smirk, before leaving to get to the bathroom. Edward stuck his tongue out after him and blew a raspberry. The lighter haired twin took this time to take a refreshing shower himself, as well as use the toothbrush that was on display for him to take, according to Edward anyway.

Later that night, when the two were washed and dressed for bed, the sky had already grown dark with the night. Clive and Edward lay together on the latter's bed, hidden under the white quilt and snuggled into the cosy pillows under their heads. Edward yawned audibly, stretching to his heart's content and not fighting the slumber that waited to pull him underneath. Clive however, seemed to be less tired.

"So, Edward, do you have a girlfriend yet?" He wanted to know, grinning.

Edward raised a hand to his chin and his eyes travelled skyward. "Hrm... well, it's sort of on and off at the moment. I really like this girl, but she only thinks of me as a friend. I tried flirting with her. Nothing was successful. She just doesn't like me in that way, I guess."

Clive poked him in the flat stomach. "Well, sounds like she isn't worth your time, then!"

"No, no!" Edward raised his voice in denial. "It's just... she's very beautiful. She's into the same music, same films and same games as me. We have so much in common; it's such a shame that she doesn't return my feelings..."

"Then keep being friends with her, and soon she'll see what a brilliant person you are. She'll come around, you'll see. And if she doesn't, then it's her loss" The brother winked and shifted into a more comfortable position.

"I hope you're right...Thanks Clive. You're cleverer than I thought. And you're also handsome! I don't know anyone who'd want to pass that combination up."

"What a subtle way of calling yourself handsome too" Clive mentioned, curling his lips up into a superior leer.

Edward yawned once again, quieter this time. "...Yeah. You know me far too well, bro..."

Clive was just about to start a new topic when he peered to his side and noticed Edward sound asleep. He gave a small, warm smile at the sight before retiring to sleep himself.

* * *

The morning sun cast a vibrant glow over London as the various birds sang their songs as a way to wake the citizens up. As for Edward and Clive, however, they were already awake hours ago and had arranged for themselves to go into the main city to view all of the tourist attractions. Edward had let it slip over breakfast that he had never actually been on the London Eye before, and so that was a priority they ensured they would eventually make happen.

They travelled along the parks first, admiring the picturesque scenery and nature that surrounded them. They breathed in fresh air, the air that held no worries whatsoever. The two of them bought some ice creams and sat down on a bench to enjoy them whilst being able to view their current landscape in awe.

"So, when today is over we're hardly going to see each other again, huh?" Edward realised with a sad sigh.

"I guess not... but I made a promise to myself yesterday that I'd tell Constance, Spring, Cogg and Shipley all about you so hopefully we could see each other more" Clive told him, raising a thumb and slotting it in between his teeth.

"Yeah..." Edward agreed. "I'm going to tell the others about you too, don't worry. I wish we won't be separated again."

"And we won't, so let's have fun today, okay? Put on that smile of yours that I love and be happy!" Clive instructed, reaching out and forcefully pulling the edges of Edward's mouth up, forming a forced beam.

"Cl-Clive! Stop it...!" The younger twin helplessly begged, tugging Clive's arms away from his own 'personal bubble'.

After a small silence, both of them burst into loud chuckles and went back to their ice cream. When the cold treat was finished, the both of them stood up to leave for more activities that they wanted to do together. They visited lakes, beautiful areas, took a small trip down the River Thames with a ferry and posed in front of Big Ben, the famous clock tower that graced Westminster. Clive and Edward took an underground train to their destinations, and found themselves becoming entangled by a web of tube trains and where they happened to be off to. Following their tourist session, the twins decided to finally queue for The London Eye, anticipating viewing London itself from such a high area.

Once they had queued for a fair amount of time and paid for the tickets, the two of them hopped into a capsule and surprisingly, no one else joined them. It was probably because there were hardly any customers here at this time. Looking out the glass, Clive mentally confirmed that there were less people then he realised at first, so he and Edward had a whole pod to themselves to roam around in.

"Ah! We're going up already! I can't wait! I've never seen London at such an angle in my life!" Edward trilled, pressing his nose up against the glass and waving to everyone below.

"You sound like this is your first time here in this city" Clive observed, wandering over to stand next to him.

"Sorry Clive, I guess I'm just really excited today!" Edward confessed before scanning the view in front of him. "Wow! Those people down there are beginning to look like ants already! That's so great, I can't believe it!"

"You just wait until we get to the top, Ed. And plus, the ride takes at least half an hour altogether, so we're in for a good time" Clive replied, watching as the scenery gradually became more extended.

Edward smiled in agreement. "I hope so, anyway! Woah, look, you can already see people's houses from up here!"

"Can you see any of ours?"

"I can't see mine, and I've never been to your house before. But it's a manor, right? It must be quite large!"

Clive leant against the metal pole behind him and scoffed. "'Quite large'? Bro, even I get lost in it sometimes! It seems like Constance wanted enough rooms for everything she owned!"

"Lucky... you even have servants there too, to wait on your every need, 'Sir Clive'!" Edward giggled, hiding his mouth behind the back of his hand.

"I don't really like to think of them as 'servants'...'friends', more like."

"That seems nice. I hope you and your family are all happy in that humongous house of yours!"

Clive bit his lip and shaded his eyes, unable to face his brother. Edward reminded him so much of their parents...and then again, so did he. Every time Clive stole a glance at the mirror, his reflection never failed to throw up memories of his family that he had lost. That was why Clive had always hated mirrors since the turning point of his life five years ago. As he thought last night, that incident changed everyone.

"You know how I feel about my new family: Exactly the same as you do with yours" Clive reminded Edward with a voice as stable as he could manage.

The atmosphere of uneasiness also swept within the darker haired twin and he expressed that by also turning away. He cast his eyes downward and focused on nothing in particular.

"...I'm sorry."

"What are you sorry for?" Clive asked, perplexed.

"...I was the one they adopted first. If I had refused and stayed behind, then maybe we could have been..." Edward sighed and sat down on the cool bench situated in the middle.

Clive's confounded expression melted into a genuine half-smile. He joined his twin on the bench next to him and rested his head in the crook of his shoulder and neck.

"You honestly think that this is all your fault, silly? It's not, so stop worrying about it. It was the social workers, that damn orphanage and the incident that made our lives a misery. I don't see how you fit into any of those things. And they were planning to separate us anyway, so neither of us even had a choice. We were also young and just had the most important people in our lives taken away forever. I don't think that either of us could think straight, let alone discuss adoption" He explained honestly, in a half-joking way.

Edward fluttered his eyes and grinned, slipping his arm in between the gap left by the other's. "Thanks, Clive. You always have the just right thing to say, somehow. You know, you've been protecting me like a big brother for all of these years, and I never had a chance to give thanks to you, so...thank you. I act like such a child all the time and when that gets me into bad situations, you'd get me out of them. It's so nice to know that someone always has your back."

"You don't have to thank me for doing that; it's what any twin would have done! And also, thank you, Ed, for being my comic relief for fifteen years," Clive kidded, pushing his twin to the side only to be shoved back into place. "And being there for me whenever I was troubled. When Mum and Dad died, I was ever so heartbroken. I even attempted to run inside and save them from their death, even though I knew the cost. I was stopped though, by a man who saved my life and brought me back to reality. After that, when I had found you again, you were the one who got me through it. If I ever had properly lost you too, I swore that I would sink to the depths of insanity again. I may have that 'older brother' instinct, but you were the one with the 'brother' instinct on the whole. I could never thank you enough for that."

The younger twin appreciated the comments and freed his arm only to lovingly wrap them both around his brother as he did yesterday. Only this time they were alone, and it felt so much more sentimental and special. It felt like the hugs and consolation that they used to provide each other when they were young children. An unstoppable wave of nostalgia hit both of them like a ton of bricks, and soon Clive found Edward sobbing into his shoulder, a sight that he had not seen before in a long time. He returned the embrace and let Edward cry instead of ceasing his tears, knowing that either one of them hadn't let out their feelings in a great period of time.

"I miss them, Clive..." Edward whimpered, voice suddenly thick with sorrow.

"I know...So do I..." The older twin whispered into his hair, also allowing a single tear to slide down his thin cheek.

* * *

Both of the boys luckily had calmed themselves by the time they had reached the peak of the Eye. Edward shot up and sprinted over to witness the view, and almost couldn't believe the beauty and the intricate detail that the landscape offered. He gasped and marvelled, wishing he had brought his camera along with him.

"Enjoying it?" Clive wanted to know, closing his hands around the comfort of the cold steel pole that ringed the capsule.

"I am, so much! Thank you for taking me here. These two days have officially been the best days of my life" Edward admitted, flicking a lock of dark hair out of his vision.

"Come to think of it, they were mine too!" Clive chuckled, softly patting Edward on the head. "Other than those times we went out with Mum and Dad when we were little and didn't have a thing to worry about."

"Yeah, of course, but," Edward began, staring off into the distance. "Today and yesterday felt extra special, seeing as I hadn't seen you ages before. Hopefully once we've told our guardians and if they accept, we can meet up more often and have plenty of fun together every weekend, how about it?"

Clive nodded quickly. "That sounds like a plan. I'd love to see it happen."

The twins talked about a bountiful of things on the journey down from the height, keeping themselves occupied and never bored. To descend to ground level took fifteen minutes altogether, but the two of them didn't care about the time anymore. All they wanted to do was spend every moment with each other to take back the years they should have rightfully spent together. Sadly, that wasn't to last for long, as when the ride finished and they had to get off, the sky was already becoming mellow as the sun slowly sank from its high position. It was already around four o'clock in the afternoon.

"Well that was fun!" Edward exclaimed breathily as they made their way back to the bus station. "It's too bad we have to say goodbye now..."

"Yeah," Clive said. "But I'm going to make sure that tonight, I tell Constance everything about you, okay? If she really loved me then she would allow me to see my brother, at least. And after that, I'll call you and we can meet up some other time, alright?"

"Mm" Edward coughed.

And then he coughed again.

And again.

And again.

Suddenly, he thrust himself over, bending down and leaning his hands against a nearby wall for support. Edward spluttered and gasped for air, wheezing at the same time. His eyes were squinted with pain and he was clutching his chest as tight as he could. Clive could only watch in horror. What was this? Was this an asthma attack? _An asthma attack...!_

"Edward, Edward listen to me, do you have your inhaler with you?" Clive demanded, facing his level.

Edward could barely manage to nod and he weakly raised a hand to his pocket. Clive reached in and pulled the object out of the jean pocket for him and held it inside his mouth, lid off. He pressed the medication down and hoped that it would do something. But alas, it didn't.

"Can't...breathe...!" Edward panted, struggling to hold on.

"Okay, okay, we're going to get some help, alright?" Clive's own heart was pounding wildly in his chest as he stood up straight and shouted along the street, screaming desperately for anyone's assistance.

To their luck, a middle aged woman emerged from the front door of her house, confused as to what all of the noise was about. Her face drained of colour when she caught sight of Edward and her mouth hung open.

"Please, my brother's having an asthma attack, is there anything you can do to help?" Clive pleaded, biting his lip coarse enough to draw blood.

The woman turned her back and fast-walked back into the house. "I'm calling an ambulance!" She called over her shoulder in a panicked tone.

Clive mentally thanked her, but at that moment he was far too busy helping his brother keep going until the ambulance arrived. What could have triggered this attack, anyway? Clive didn't know anything about the subject, but all he really was aware of was that he couldn't afford to lose his other half. That is what he focused on right now. That was all he focused on.

The only things he could hear were the sound of Edward's coughing, himself begging for this to stop and his heart thumping fast. The last time he had experienced this level of shock was when he had come home to his flat destroyed and his parents still inside. Clive couldn't let Edward slip out of his reach, especially not after the two days they had just shared together.

They promised each other that they would do this again sometime, didn't they? Edward still had to tell Angela and Tim about Clive, and Clive had to do so with Constance the other way around. They promised. Clive couldn't bear the thought of the worst possible outcome of Edward's attack.

"Okay Ed, just keep a clear mind and breathe...nice and slow, that's it..."Clive told his brother, not only instructions for him but also for himself too.

Edward tried to obey Clive and granted, that did help the situation a little but didn't make it much better. Due to the loss of oxygen in his system, Edward couldn't help but fall unconscious. He tumbled to the floor and his breathing slowed, almost to a stop. Clive gritted his teeth and felt the tears well up beneath his eyes.

He couldn't let him go, not here...! Not at this time! Please!

Clive was so occupied in making sure that his brother was safe that he didn't even pay any attention to the flashing lights of the ambulance pulling up behind him. Official doctors rushed out of the drivers' seats and back doors, heading for Edward to analyse his condition. One doctor asked Clive what had happened, while the others were preparing to take Edward in via stretcher.

"I need to go with him!" Clive blurted out, anguish radiating from his panicked eyes.

"Are you a relative?" The doctor queried, beginning to follow the others back into the ambulance.

"Yes!" Clive insisted. "We're twins! Check our birth certificates, anything! Hell, just _compare _our faces; we look exactly the same!"

The doctor would have questioned him more if he and his co-workers weren't in an emergency. Instead he simply gestured for Clive to come inside the vehicle, where Edward had already been wired to several machines and had an oxygen mask strapped to cover his mouth.

Clive overheard many technical terms in that ambulance, but the one that stood out for him was 'CPR'. Was Edward's condition that bad now? Did this mean he had a lower chance of surviving? Terrible thoughts swam into Clive's mind as he watched his brother, the same brother who had cried into him not even an hour ago, be in a state like this.

If only Clive knew what had to be done! He sighed. There was no use dwelling on the past now. Only the future.

* * *

"Jesus, this day sure took a turn for the worse!"

Clive turned his head from the grubby hospital window to the figure that lay still under the blanket, the figure that was complaining and pouting like he usually did when he was annoyed.

"There I was, having the best day of my life when 'bam'! Big asthma attack comes along and ruins it all for me, so now I have my own oxygen supply and all these wires hooked into me and everything! Will my body ever learn?" Edward moaned in frustration.

Clive chuckled and stood over him, hands resting on the pristine white hospital bed where his brother lay. "Well you seem fine already to me! Meanwhile, I was having the fright of my life!"

Edward tilted his head and bit his lip. "I'm sorry about that!"

"No, no, it wasn't your fault. Anyway, what caused that asthma attack? You didn't mention anything whatsoever about an allergy..." Clive mused, raising an eyebrow as he thought of all the possibilities.

"Hum, I remember strong emotions can trigger an asthma attack...maybe the conversation in that pod might have set it off or something. I remember feeling a tad bit breathless after stepping out of the wheel..." Edward stuck his bottom lip out and tapped it in thought.

Clive winced. This was all his fault... "I'm so sorry, Edward. I shouldn't even have begun the talk. Please forgive me."

"Again, that wasn't your fault, okay? Please stop blaming yourself; it makes me feel bad too, you know! Anyway, the doctors say that because it's late, I have to stay here overnight but I expect I'll be discharged tomorrow or so. Angela and Tim have already been called because I suspect that they had already arrived home while I was gone... I guess I've just got to take better care of myself next time! Looks like I'm sleeping with the oxygen mask on tonight, ha-ha-ha. Oh yeah, they say that now that I've already had one emergency experience with asthma, there's a large possibility of me having something like this happen again."

"Don't say that! Gosh, you've already nearly given me a heart attack once, don't make it twice! Sheesh!" Clive huffed, folding his arms over and sticking his nose high in the air.

Edward beamed and patted Clive on the arm where he could reach. "Like I said, I'll take care of myself this time. And anyway, you really think I can be killed that easily? No way, bro! I'll keep fighting on!"

"Good" The older twin commented and laughed quietly to himself. "The last time I experienced this amount of fear was when Mum and Dad died..."

Edward flipped his head back to stare straight ahead at the plain wall again. "Oh."

"Yeah..." Clive breathed, but all of a sudden he remembered something. "Do you remember how they died?"

"Of course I do! In an explosion, how could you not know that?"

"I see. Well, I've been doing my research in the newspaper archives at the library recently, and I found out that an experiment was scheduled that day. The information was quite limited as obviously, it was a public area and surprisingly, there was hardly any information about the topic but I still soaked up enough to keep me going. So this experiment... it was done by a few people. Not very many, about two or three. I'm not sure what they were experimenting on, but it was great enough to cause that disaster" Clive explained, feeding his brother all the information he was taught himself after that day in the newspaper archives.

A green-haired nurse made her way through the dark hallway to check up on several different patients. She was young, but she didn't have much patience on her. She was walking outside Edward's hospital room when she overheard their conversation as the door was only left slightly ajar. With a disapproving eye, she leaned her ear against the door out of interest.

"...One of these scientists, I learned, grew to be a figure of authority while another died her or himself in the events. I don't know what happened to the other people."

"Interesting!" Edward sucked in his lips and nodded, impressed with Clive's work. "So we are going to solve this case and see who killed our parents in that blast five years ago, right? Sounds like fun!"

The nurse scowled.

"Probably not," Clive told him, his line of sight travelling in the direction of his hands fiddling with each other. "I chose to leave the past behind after that research. What's done is done, I guess. You can try it though, I suppose. It would be quite amusing seeing you solve it!"

"Maybe I will, then! It sounds great! It will be the first thing I do after I get out of this place!" Edward promised, punching the air gladly. "And what do you mean by that? Are you saying I'm low in intelligence?"

The two boys shared a chortle amongst themselves for a while. The nurse who stood outside took this opportunity to allow herself in, making her presence known by swinging open the creaking door.

"Visiting hours are over" She declared coldly, implying that Clive should leave.

He took the hint and furrowed his eyebrows, but still obeyed. He glanced back at Edward in concern. "You're going to be fine here?"

"Sure I am! Stop worrying about me."

"Alright then. Let's go out next weekend again, okay? I'll call you about it in a few days" Clive proposed, which earned him a nod from the identical boy.

"I'm looking forward to it. I'll see you later!" Edward waved to him happily.

"Yeah. See you later" Clive waved back.

And with that, brushing past the impatient green-haired nurse, the older twin left the hospital back for the manor. Although he wished that he and Edward could be reunited as they were when they were young children, Clive was satisfied with seeing him every weekend or so. It was a lovely arrangement, and both of them couldn't wait for their next meeting up. Tomorrow, Clive would tell Constance everything. The bond that held him and Edward together could never be broken, no matter the circumstance. It was already a miracle that they managed to see each other in the middle of London a few years ago amongst hoards of people. There was a love there between them that nobody else understood.

Edward was Clive's other half, after all.

* * *

He dropped the phone. He took sharp breaths. He found himself dwindling down.

_Down. _

His heart felt as if it would explode. Bile was rising from the back of his throat. His fists clenched.

_Down._

This couldn't be happening. Why? Why him? Why did he have to suffer like this? The only direction he was heading was...

_Down._

The phone collided with the marble floor, sounding a clatter throughout the hallway. There was an empty, disturbing silence, save for the distressed cries emitting from the boy leaning against the wall. Nobody heard him. The house wasn't like their old flat; it was ever so hollow. Constance slept peacefully through it. The servants had their own homes. He was alone.

He was so alone.

He wailed, but nothing poured out of his eyes. The despair overwhelmed him so much, he struggled to stand. He ambled to the kitchen, eyes glazed over. He barely managed to slide open a drawer with what little strength he had left.

His fingers closed around the chilling handle of the fine chef's knife, whilst controlling his disorientated mindset as best as he could. The object weighed him down as he staggered up to his bedroom, lip trembling.

He reached his destination and slammed the door behind him.

There it was.

The long mirror against the wall gleamed with what moonlight it had the strength to reflect. It stood tall and proud, almost majestic, even.

Clive glared emotionlessly at his reflection, eyes sunken and posture slouched slightly. Such a demonic invention, he thought, eyes barely moving to study the mirror's edge. And then they returned to the reflection itself.

He had told himself earlier that mirrors threw up memories of the family that he had lost for eternity.

And all he saw in the glass...was Edward staring lifelessly back at him.

Gritting his teeth and feeling his pupils dilate in animosity, he slowly raised the chef's knife up high beside his head. With an expression filled with malice, he strengthened his grip on the dangerous weapon.

He hurled it at the mirror. It stabbed the glass right where Clive's face was, yearning for blood. He tugged it back out of the damaged glass, now cracked and weak.

Clive steadied himself, before screaming in grief and forcing the knife back into the mirror as brutally as he possibly could.

The mirror shattered into thousands of fragments beneath him.

* * *

"Yes, it seems like the other Young Sir died from another asthma attack. It's terribly unfortunate" Shipley commented, cooking the dinner for the two at the table.

"You have all of our condolences, Clive" Spring rubbed his hunched over back before going off to make the drinks.

Constance examined Clive's mourning eyes as they stared at nothing at all. His whole world had collapsed. Nothing felt right anymore.

"Clive, I'm very sorry for your loss," The elderly woman spoke. "Why didn't you tell me you had a twin brother?"

Clive didn't reply. Why didn't he tell Constance in the first place, anyway? He failed to remember. His mind couldn't function properly.

He couldn't comprehend that just days ago, Edward was so alive and well. He was humorous, he was sentimental and his smile was the only one that Clive adored. Just thinking about the hugs and warmth that he had received from his brother brought that dreaded thick lump up again that made it difficult to breathe. After his parents died, he never knew how he would ever feel joyful again. Then his path crossed with Edward's. Clive couldn't register that he was properly gone, as he didn't want to accept that it was broken.

The bond was broken.

Constance received the hint that Clive wanted to be left alone. He never spoke a word for the rest of the evening, and even retired to bed earlier than usual. He didn't touch a morsel of his food, didn't brush his teeth or want to do anything beside drown in his own sorrow. Constance realised that her adoptive son was now truly depressed. She sighed, and while she was growing old herself, she wanted to be there for the son she never had in her final years which were nearing.

The elderly lady knocked softly on Clive's door before allowing herself in, knowing that the boy wouldn't say anything himself. She caught sight of the broken mirror to her right.

"Oh my...Clive dear, what happened?" She questioned kindly, cautiously picking up a piece of the glass and dropping it. "We'll clean it up later, don't worry. Anyway, Clive, I am so very sorry for the loss of your brother..."

Constance used her walking cane to navigate to Clive's bed and plopped herself down next to where he lay. His eyes were feebly open, but he still ached all over with bereavement. Constance couldn't stand witnessing Clive like this.

"I know, losing a loved one is hard, honey. But you've just got to remember that Edward would never want to see you like this, would he? It must be also painful for him too..." Constance tried to comfort, but her words made no difference at all.

"So, I heard from Edward's adoptive parents that he was a very friendly boy. He may be taken away from you here on Earth, but he'll always be there in your heart for you whenever you need him, okay? It must be absolutely terrible, losing your parents and then your brother five years later. Anyway, if you ever feel like speaking out to somebody, I'll always be here for you, son."

Constance exhaled sadly and stood back up, turning her back to leave the sombre atmosphere of the dark bedroom.

"...How did he die though?" Clive mumbled, in a hoarse voice that barely accounted as a whisper.

Constance turned, surprised that Clive finally spoke a word but annoyed that she didn't catch it. "Pardon?"

"_How did he die_?" Clive repeated, his voice louder this time.

Constance scratched her cheek, bewildered at the question. "Of an asthma attack, of course. Oh you poor dear, now you're suffering memory loss—"

"No, it can't have been that."

"Excuse me?" Constance beckoned for him to explain, as she was rather baffled that Clive cut her off.

Clive turned on his back so his muffled voice could be heard louder. "When I saw him in the hospital, he was completely fine. He was speaking without an oxygen mask. He said that the only reason why the hospital had planned to discharge him until morning was because he had no guardian there until late evening and it was getting late. They deemed Edward's condition as stable again."

"Perhaps his condition was worse than he thought, and it just worsened overnight" Constance suggested.

"That can't possibly be true for a fatal asthma attack, as Edward slept with the oxygen mask on and he was supposed to be supervised at all times. Also, what could have triggered it? Any natural occurrence in the hospital he possibly could have been allergic to, he would have noticed and they would have moved him. It couldn't have been an emotional attack, as I left him with something to look forward to. I don't know about you, but I feel something suspicious is happening here" Clive deduced quietly, demonstrating his intelligence.

Constance merely left him to his own thoughts as he theorized aloud, growing more frustrated that he couldn't find the answer by the minute.

Was he really that stupid? Why couldn't he see what it was already?

Then he realised it.

The reason why the experiment five years ago was kept private under such secrecy.

"_...One of these scientists, I learned, grew to be a figure of authority while another died her or himself in the events. I don't know what happened to the other people."_

"_Interesting!" Edward sucked in his lips and nodded, impressed with Clive's work. "So we are going to solve this case and see who killed our parents in that blast five years ago, right? Sounds like fun!"_

"_Probably not," Clive told him, his line of sight travelling in the direction of his hands fiddling with each other. "I chose to leave the past behind after that research. What's done is done, I guess. You can try it though, I suppose. It would be quite amusing seeing you solve it!"_

"_Maybe I will, then! It sounds great! It will be the first thing I do after I get out of this place!" Edward promised, punching the air gladly._

Everything clicked into place for Clive at that moment. Everything made perfect sense after that realisation. He shot up and out of bed, speeding to his desk. Clive brought a piece of paper and a pen his way and began to scribble down some notes about the matter. The pieces of the puzzle snapped against each other as the cogs of his mind began to spin and whirl fast.

His grief was replaced with the next stage of mourning: fury. The decisions he made sitting at that desk in the middle of that evening were giant decisions for a boy his age. He knew what he had to do now with his life. He knew exactly what his purpose on this Earth was now. It wasn't to live a life full of misery, it was to establish a _change. _

And when he figured out who this figure of authority was who had some possible connection in Edward's death, that figure would definitely pay a price.

"Edward..."Clive whispered into the palms of his hands. "Thank you for being my brother. Thank you for everything you've ever done for me. I love you and miss you dearly and it will take me quite a long time for me to tell myself that you're gone, but..." Tears escaped his eyes as he reminded himself of all the qualities of his brother, his smile, his laugh, all of him. "...After your death, I need to avenge you. I can't let your or our parents' lives slip away in vain. I will never forget you. I will get down to the bottom of what caused your death, even if it kills me too. If I make it through my plans alive, then I will make sure that you didn't die so young for nothing. I'm going to make my name as the last survivor of our family. You just watch me do it."

Nothing would ever be the same for Clive again. With his brother's death, something ignited within him: a desire for vengeance. He had no idea how he was going to achieve this revenge first, but he knew that he was going to do it. And nothing would stop him, ever.

That was the last time Clive cried in years. The days before were the last times that he genuinely smiled in that time. Clive found it hard to cope with the fact that his family were all gone, and that the brother that he loved and teased last weekend would never come back to him. No matter what he did or tried to do, a large part of him would always be missing. After all, his other half was dead.

And you need two halves to make a whole.

-END.


End file.
